Morning Recollections
by UnicornApocalypse
Summary: My retelling of Aya's first night with Tooya.  Hope you enjoy rereading one of most romantic moments in the series!


This my altered and more in-depth version of Aya's first night with Tooya. Hope you like it! Please Review :)

Disclaimer: I do not own Ayashi no Ceres, it belongs to Yuu Watase.

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Aya awoke to the calming sound of shallow breathing. She leisurely opened her drowsy eyes, observing the small hotel room with had completely escaped her attention the previous day. It was a charming room, painted in ivory and lightly garnished with numerous shades of blue. It greatly contrasted the events that had taken place the night before; they were anything but conventional. She turned her head to face her lover, slowly enough as to not wake him. Aya traced the outline of his lips with her finger and softly kissed him. She then proceeded to recollect the overwhelming events of the preceding night.

~The Beginning~

Aya was extremely apprehensive as she arrived at the Aogiri's. After receiving that unexpected phone call from Suzumi only hours ago questioning her about the whereabouts of Tooya, how could she be expected to be otherwise? She walked onto the porch meeting Suzumi who greeted her with surprise, asking why she was back from Miyagi so soon and by herself no less. Aya didn't reply. Instead she immediately inquired about Tooya. But Suzumi could not provide a satisfactory answer. Aya was brimming with concern.

She could not help but worry about where her beloved boyfriend, if that's what you would call Tooya, had been for weeks now. They hadn't exactly parted in the best circumstances. The last image she had engraved into her mind was Tooya splattered in blood, leaning over the body of a child, his stiletto jammed into his prey's leg. She shuttered at the idea. It was at that time that she immediately regretted allowing Chidori to drag her away from Tooya, when he had needed her understanding most. She had slapped him, given him no explanation as to why he was wrong and simply ran away. She had thought about calling him so many times but never had the courage to speak with him. Even after Yuuhi had tried to force himself on her.

"Hey! Where's your usual spirit?" a curious voice called and she was suddenly pulled from her thoughts by a light poke on the back her head. She turned around, ascertaining where and who the voice had come from and exclaimed,

"Shuro! Why are you here?" Her face mangled with a mixture of delight and surprise.

"Long time no see."

"She just arrived and was telling me that she missed you guys. Unfortunately Yuuhi and Chidori are not here right now…" said Suzumi. Then sensing she was no longer needed scurried of to allow the two friends to confide in one another. Aya and Shuro sat down on the porch, while Suzumi wandered off to make tea, and the two friends began to reacquaint themselves. Aya hadn't seen Shuro since in incident with Kei and there was much to talk about. Shuro was the only person to which Aya could relate too. Suzumi was too much like a mother to Aya and Shuro understood the pain of loss thoroughly, as did Aya. Not that that was a good thing but it helped them empathize. Thus, Aya confided in Shuro.

After the lively updates on Shuro's singing career she and Aya approached the cause of Aya's troubles. Aya began to express her concerns with Tooya's feelings for her; he had never once said "I love you". Shuro stared sympathetically. Then began to explain her opinion on the situation.

"Love is not an easy thing. It's deeper than like… because it's so precious, it cannot easily be said out loud." Aya sat in silent contemplation, staring at the dusking sky, mulling over the thought, knowing she would end up nowhere. The sound of her phone brought her back to reality. She subconsciously picked up the phone, answered exclaiming "TOOYA!" But she was disappointed, yet again, by the sound of Yuuhi screaming out of the receiver. The color drained out of her cheeks. Why wasn't he calling? What was he doing? Then, out of the blue, Shuro, sensing her growing concern, pecked her on the cheek.

"This is my encouragement! I'm not Lesbian! Oh, don't show me that face. I'm sure Tooya's okay," she said smiling. "Oh! And Aya…," she continued but before she could finish Aya, filled with renewed vigor, was dashing out of the grounds in search of Tooya, of course, with no idea where he could be.

Aya knew she was being ridiculous and rash but she had to find him. She had just taken the bus downtown, it was 10:00 p.m. and there were perverts everywhere. She wandered aimlessly around the city, walking up and down the same streets over and over again hoping for some trace of Tooya, though knowing how unlikely it would be to find one. Her cell phone had been constantly ringing for the past 2 hours, displaying the name Yuuhi repeatedly. Aya knew that she was being extremely selfish, especially concerning what he had recently done for her. He had purposely put himself in harms way to protect her and she couldn't even give him what he, so desperately wanted. Finally, fatigued, she sat down on a bus bench and shivered as a breeze seeped through her body. It was then she realize how cold she had become. She had to get moving.

Aya continued, absentmindedly down a popular street, passing pub after pub, not knowing where to go, she turned the corner into a deserted street. Deep in thought, she sighed in frustration. Then realized her mistake. There was a street lamp, which revealed two shadows approaching from 15 feet away. Both were fairly sizable compared to her.

"Hey baby. You a high school student?" said a tall, brawny man with shaggy hair.

"No… I'm…" she denied, then realizing she was still in her uniform," I'm not interested."

"I didn't ask you anything but now that you mention it, wanna come with us?"

"Yeah, it'll be a good time," said the other one, a twisted smirk growing across his leathery face. Aya knew staying in such close proximity to these men would only lead to more danger, she pivoted and dashed back the way, she thought, she had come from. The called after her but, luckily, decided not to pursue her and walked on. She then realized the actual risk she put herself in, she was the recipient of several lewd stares from every old man on the street. Yuuhi and the others were probably worried sick. Her phone started to ring once again; she decided to answer the phone this time.

"Aya?..." spoke a quiet, familiar and, strangely, feeble voice. Her heart began to race; she had been waiting for the call, only this call. She was flooded with overwhelming happiness. However, it came crashing to a halt when the tone of his voice finally registered in her mind.

"Tooya?" she exclaimed. "Is it really you? Where are you? Are you hurt?..."

"Aya…. thank god," he mumbled. Before she realized it, Aya's eyes were brimming over with tears that had been internalized for what felt like eternity. "Are you in Tokyo?"

"Yes," she choked.

"… you're crying, aren't you. I'm fine but I need your help…" He continued to speak, explaining where he was. Aya, hardly making sense of it all, sprinted as fast as should, towards the train station he had indicated. She arrived, frantically looked around and then ran down the nearest alley, where she found him. Aya came to a sudden halt, overcome by a medley of emotions. She hardly knew how to contain the site let alone process it. His clothes were torn, his body covered in dried blood and deep wounds that appeared fresh but oddly healed. He was leaning against a phone booth that he had undoubtedly called her from. Tooya slowly opened his eyes, observing the shock that appeared to suffocate Aya's angelic but thinned face.

"How…. can this be?" she stammered. "How horrible! Why would they- how could they?"

"I'm alright. I didn't hurt anyone. Not a single person." All of a sudden she recalled the moment she had slapped him, she recoiled at the abstraction. Once again, those savored tears spilt over and stained her distressed complexion. Tooya looked at her longingly.

"I-Idiot!" she hiccupped. "You are such an… Idiot." She buried her face deep within his shoulder. He looked down, gasping in the sweet scent of her hair. He hardly knew what to say.

"I thought I'd never see you again," Tooya sighed, stroking her hair. 'I'm really clueless aren't I,' he thought to himself. Tooya held her as she sobbed and hiccupped out words he couldn't understand. He knew the pain he had inflicted upon her and yet here she was, she had come to him despite all his wrongdoings. The warm tears seeped through his clothing, he new these had been saved for him. Finally Aya calmed down. She hailed a taxi and Tooya propped himself up against the brick wall, slowly standing, and then staggered towards her. The driver looked as him fearfully, then curiously. Then, in need of business, decided to give the couple a ride. After all, the girl was pretty hot.

They arrived at the nearest hotel, after some persuasion on Tooya's behalf. Aya had insisted that he should go to the hospital but Tooya knew that wasn't needed. He healed abnormally quickly and it would just cause more trouble than good. He didn't need to owe anyone more than he already did. If he could recall what he looked like after fight with Wei, Aya probably would have been traumatized. They entered the hotel, receiving many disturbed glances from people who maliciously whispered amongst themselves but, nonetheless, were shown to their room courteously. Aya asked for some bandages, the woman who accompanied them silently bowed and walked off. A moment later, after Aya had settled Tooya on the bed, a man knocked at the door providing some gauze and medical tape. She began to wrap his left upper arm, when she began to cry again.

"Hey… These wounds will heal quickly. Don't cry anymore, I don't have any serious injuries. No broken bones. I'm not new to this so they didn't hurt any crucial parts"

"But it's all my fault…"

"No. You were right. I shouldn't kill, I don't have to kill."

"But what if they had killed you! If you had died I…. Oh God!" her face was flushed and raw from the fresh tears that had escaped from her eyes. It stung.

"You've changed…you know. I could never figure out why you chose me. You deserve a boyfriend who would do anything for you, a man who would always stand by your side. Why am I special? What's so good about men like me?"

"That's not what its about! – I…"

"And what about me? With so many woman to choose from, I meet you and you're the only one I see, the only one I can feel for." Tooya's wounded hand caressed her cheek. It was warm and comforting, something she had missed exceedingly. He pulled her gently into a kiss. Dazed, she withdraw, gathered her thoughts and said, "I have to wash my face…" He wrapped his arms around her and drew her into an eager embrace.

"Aya…" he whispered, coaxing her.

"No. I can't. I'm sweaty and my face is soiled from tears."

"Aya, I don't want to repress myself an longer far too painful." Was this really happening, thought Aya to herself. Where was the cautious and secretive man she knew? "Stay with me," he continued. How unfair he was. He was staring at her and she couldn't avoid his gaze. His face drew nearer, her resolve faltered and before she knew it, they were kissing.

Aya could hardly breathe. Her mind was clouded and yet she knew exactly every place he touched, could feel every caress, every shift in his body. She could clearly here the beating of his heart and the quickened pace of his breaths. If only this moment could last for eternity, and it did seem like eternity. He removed her sweater skillfully, never, for a moment, releasing her. He seemed so desperate. Unbuttoning her shirt, Tooya held her arm causing Aya to jolt and yelp in pain.

Her head was resting on his shoulder as he proceeded to examine a bandaged wound; it had started to bleed. Reluctantly, Tooya withdrew from her.

"This is…. How?"

"I was bitten by a dog, it's nothing."

"Blood…"

"Really, it's nothing. Don't leave me, not like last time." Aya flung her arms around him.

"I won't leave, I won't leave you."

He knew that after this night he could never afford to leave her. She had been hurt when he wasn't there, he couldn't let that happen again. Besides, how could be pretend to be happy with being alone. He knew better than to give in to passion but he had no desire to listen to reason, not anymore.

The heat was unbearable. Her body was throbbing, pinned under the weight of him but none of that mattered. This was more than she could ever ask for. He was holding her; Tooya was embracing her.

Half the time she had no idea what was going on but she was constantly searching for his lips. The heat was melding them together.

"I love you…" he said. Those three words resounded in her heart as she fell asleep within Tooya's arms.

Review Please!


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